Six members of one highly dysfunctional family storm a theater during rehearsals, demanding to be heard. They are not people, they inform the surprised actors and their director, but fictional characters bereft of a playwright who now desire to be heard and inhabited by living actors.
The 1921 play by Noble prize winner Luigi Pirandello is a favorite among acting students for two reasons: It’s a powerful study of the passion for theater, and the large cast required to stage it offers them a variety of roles to play.
When Roy Chen translated the play into Hebrew in 2010, under the late director Yevgeny Aryeh, he decided to make some alterations to the century-old work. He introduced a lap dog named Chekov, owned by the leading actress (May Kurtz), a sly nod to the Russian origins of the Gesher Theater and a dash of irony concerning the gap between artistic aspirations and real life.
It was also an inside joke. Late actress Elisheva Michaeli, who refused to accept small roles, had a lap dog called Zaza (She Moves), which she took with her to rehearsals. Whenever the dog heard the stage direction it barked, noted theater critic Michael Handelzalts.
Kurtz gives a fantastic performance as the insecure leading actress terrified of being upstaged by another young woman (Adi Zemah), the daughter of this weird family of invaders. Unknown to her mother (Tamar Kornblum), the girl works as a prostitute to make ends meet to support her two mute siblings (Nadav Arditi as the boy and Amit Michaeli as the girl).
Tragedy strikes when her unknowing father (Eliya Shem-Tov) becomes a client. The transgression, shame, and violence shatter their tiny lives, and, accompanied by a stuttering son (Asaf Zalmanovich), this circus of pain takes charge of the theater.
The leading actor (Mike Eli), tasked with playing the father, must suffer taunts by this crude, unforgiving man, for doing a bad job. The director (Omer Farbman), who begins the performance in his underwear, quaffing energy drinks and devouring Raman noodles as he reads the play, nearly cracks under the mental pressure of handling actors, running a production, and communicating with would-be characters. He is supported by his assistant director (Mika Siwek), who keeps things together – despite being allergic to Chekov – by sheer willpower.
Director conjures masterful contrasts
UNDER DIRECTOR Ilana Lalchok, masterful contrasts are conjured on stage in a rapid succession of wonders. The white face paint and dark clothes worn by the family members, designed by Yehudit Aharon, mark them as a sadder Adams Family out of the grave and all around town.
When the father discusses his brothel visits with the other two men (Farbman and Eli), the stage is split between a male group, which condones paying for sex as “the oldest profession”, and a group of women (Zemah, Kornblum, Kurtz, and Siwek) who do not agree nor forgive.
This dichotomy is broken, in a marvelous way, by Itay Bagdadi as Madame Pace.
Pace, who owns a day-time clothes store that becomes a nightly brothel, is presented here in a daring, highly unusual way. Pace is the only character who speaks in broken Hebrew with a faux-Italian accent, linking the language to the origins of this play.
The assistant director, unsure how to call Pace, tries several pronouns before settling for “they,” noting, “This is how you like to be called right?” This is a wonderful step that goes a long way to actualizing an often-performed play.
Bagdadi, like all the other characters in this adaptation, insists that he is not “bad” and objects to the production depicting them as such. It is a marvelous performance, and one can be forgiven if, exiting the theater, this powerful character leaves a big mental mark.
It would be wrong to leave it at that. Without exception, all roles offer something to marvel at. The hurt looks the child (Michaeli) gives the leading actor when he takes back the hat she toyed with. The shrill laughter used by Zemah to conceal how badly hurt her character is and the gentleness in which her mother (Kornblum) tries to fix her hair.
Farbman, who does a wonderful role as director, steals the show for a moment or two when he gives acting lessons to the leading actor on how to play the father. Patient audience members, with keen eyes, will enjoy this production immensely.
Six Characters in Search of an Author will be performed at the Yoram Loewenstein Acting Studio from Wednesday, May 29, at 8:30 p.m. until Saturday, June 8, at 8:30 p.m. with back-to-back shows on Saturdays (5 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.) These Hebrew-only performances will be held at 19 Hanoch St., Tel Aviv.
Different studio students play various roles in alternating performances. The play is 90 minutes without an intermission. NIS 65 per ticket. Call (03) 688-6514, ext.1, to book. The performance contains adult themes and is not suitable for those under age.